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The Boii were a Celtic tribe of the later Iron Age, attested at various times in Cisalpine Gaul, Pannonia, present-day Bavaria, in and around present-day Bohemia, parts of present-day Slovakia and Poland, and Gallia Narbonensis.
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Vercingetorix was a Gallic king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe who united the Gauls in a failed revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars. After surrendering to Caesar and spending almost six years in prison, he was executed in Rome.
Commentarii de Bello Gallico, also Bellum Gallicum, is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it, Caesar describes the battles and intrigues that took place in the nine years he spent fighting the Celtic and Germanic peoples in Gaul that opposed Roman conquest.
The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul. Gallic, Germanic, and Brittonic tribes fought to defend their homelands against an aggressive Roman campaign. The Wars culminated in the decisive Battle of Alesia in 52 BC, in which a complete Roman victory resulted in the expansion of the Roman Republic over the whole of Gaul. Though the collective Gallic armies were as strong as the Roman forces, the Gallic tribes' internal divisions eased victory for Caesar. Gallic chieftain Vercingetorix's attempt to unite the Gauls under a single banner came too late. Caesar portrayed the invasion as being a preemptive and defensive action, but historians agree that he fought the wars primarily to boost his political career and to pay off his debts. Still, Gaul was of significant military importance to the Romans. Native tribes in the region, both Gallic and Germanic, had attacked Rome several times. Conquering Gaul allowed Rome to secure the natural border of the river Rhine.
Legio X Equestris, a Roman legion, was one of the most trusted legions of Julius Caesar. Legio X was famous in its day and throughout history, because of its portrayal in Caesar's Commentaries and the prominent role the Tenth played in his Gallic campaigns. Its soldiers were discharged in 45 BC. Its remnants were reconstituted, fought for Mark Antony and Octavian, disbanded, and later merged into X Gemina.
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The Pictones were a Gallic tribe dwelling south of the Loire river, in the modern departments of Vendée, Deux-Sèvres and Vienne, during the Iron Age and Roman period.
Diviciacus or Divitiacus was a druid of the Aedui tribe who lived in Gaul during the 1st century BC. He is the only druid from antiquity whose existence is attested by name. The name may mean "avenger". His date of birth is unknown, though he was an adult during the late 60s BC, and an aristocrat who took part in the clans' decision-making, as described by Julius Caesar in Caesar's The Gallic War.
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Gorgobina was a Celtic oppidum on the territory of the Aedui tribe. After the defeat of the Helvetii in 58 BC at nearby Bibracte, the Helvetians' Boii allies settled there. Whether this really was an act of clemency on Julius Caesar's part may be disputed. With the Aedui being allies of Rome, Vercingetorix besieged Gorgobina in the course of his campaign:
Hac re cognita Vercingetorix rursus in Bituriges exercitum reducit atque inde profectus Gorgobinam, Boiorum oppidum, quos ibi Helvetico proelio victos Caesar collocaverat Haeduisque attribuerat, oppugnare instituit.
(Translation:) With this in mind, Vercingetorix led his army back to the territory of the Bituriges and advanced from there to Gorgobina, the oppidum of the Boii – whom, defeated in the battle of the Helvetians, Caesar had installed there and assigned to the Aedui –, and laid siege to it.
The Graioceli were a small Gallic tribe dwelling in the valley of Maurienne, in the modern region of Savoie, during the Iron Age.
The Tulingi were a small tribe closely allied to the Celtic Helvetii in the time of Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul. Their location is unknown; their language and descent are uncertain. From their close cooperation with the Helvetii it can be deduced that they were probably neighbours of the latter. At the Battle of Bibracte in 58 BCE, they were, with the Boii and a few other smaller tribes, allies of the Helvetii against the Roman legions of Caesar.
The Battle of Magetobriga was fought in 63 BC between rival tribes in Gaul. The Aedui tribe was defeated and massacred by the combined forces of their hereditary rivals, the Sequani and Arverni tribes. To secure their victory, the Sequani and Arverni enlisted the aid of the Germanic Suebi tribe led by its king Ariovistus, who would subsequently make increasingly imposing demands upon his Gallic allies. Following their defeat, the Aedui sent envoys to the Roman Senate, their traditional ally, seeking aid. The Roman general Julius Caesar would use the Aedui’s entreaties and Ariovistus’ oppression as pretexts for launching his conquest of Gaul.
Over the course of nearly four centuries, the Roman Republic fought a series of wars against various Celtic tribes, whom they collectively described as Galli, or Gauls. Among the principal Gallic peoples described as antagonists by Greek and Roman writers were the Senones, Insubres, Boii, and Gaesatae.
References
- ↑ Welch, Kathryn (31 December 2009). Julius Caesar as Artful Reporter: The War Commentaries as Political Instruments. ISD LLC. ISBN 9781910589366 . Retrieved 4 February 2019– via Google Books.
- ↑ Grillo, Luca; Krebs, Christopher B. (28 December 2017). The Cambridge Companion to the Writings of Julius Caesar. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107023413 . Retrieved 18 February 2019– via Google Books.
- ↑ "Interea Caesar Ea Legione". Scribd. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
- ↑ Pokorny, Julius (2005) [1959]. "per-3, per-g-". indogermanisches etymologisches woerterbuch. Leiden: Leiden University, the IEED-project. pp. 818–819. Archived from the original on August 9, 2011.
- ↑ "Caesar: Bellum Gallicum I". www.thelatinlibrary.com. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
- ↑ Caesar, Julius (26 November 1998). The Gallic War: Seven Commentaries on The Gallic War with an Eighth Commentary by Aulus Hirtius. OUP Oxford. ISBN 9780191605666 . Retrieved 18 February 2019– via Google Books.
- ↑ "Hardcore History 60 The Celtic Holocaust". www.dancarlin.com. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
- 1 2 Hammerton, Sir John Alexander (5 November 2015). "The Greatest Ancient and Medieval History: Forever Books Guide". 谷月社. Retrieved 10 April 2020– via Google Books.
